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As MMi reported early Wednesday, Microsoft was expected to unveil its new Windows Phone 8 today at the company's Windows Phone Developer Summit. The speculation proved correct just moments ago as the software giant raised the curtain on a dazzling new smartphone that will all but certainly turn heads (even among some iPhone owners).

Launching this fall in conjunction with Microsoft's Windows Surface tablet, Windows Phone 8 is a striking handset with an HD screen that will support multi-core CPUs and deliver mobile payments capabilities through Near Field Communications (NFC) technology.

Support for three new screen resolutions include: WVGA (800x480 pixels), WXVGA (1280x768), and "True 720p" (1280x720). Not surprisingly, the Windows Phone 8 will will draw heavily from its code foundation in Windows 8, a platform that will let developers create new mobile applications capable of running on Microsoft phones, tablets, and computers.

Handsets that use the new Windows Phone 8 operating system will come with built-in mapping technology from Nokia, Microsoft's key partner in the smartphone market, the company said.

Additionally, Windows Phones will get support for a MicroSD expansion slot - a development that could give the OS a subsequent 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB memory boost. MicroSD cards also makes it pretty seamless to transfer data from the smartphone straight to a PC.

Microsoft, with a nod to an iPhone feature called Siri—also showed off speech recognition software that developers can harness to let users launch and control apps with their voice, "something Siri just now is learning to do," said Kevin Gallo, the head of developer platform for Windows Phone.

Catering to many of the requests made from avid users, the platform will support in-app purchases, desktop-level security, and development in C, C++. Microsoft even confirmed today that it will, as rumored, integrate VoIP calling apps like Skype so that calls placed and received through these apps and related services will appear just as natural as native phone calls.

"We will have the best device lineup we've ever had before," said Terry Myerson, the head of the Windows Phone group. This fall, however, we'll find out if smartphone buyers agree with that assessment.

Coming from someone who uses the OS7 Dreamboard Theme on my device, I can say I have no interest in this phone. The phone itself still does not look appealing to the eye.. might as well be a 3Gs. The iPhone 4 Design by itself screamed I'm sexy without even pressing the home button to debut the OS. Not to mention it's absolutely ludicrous to create (3) different models based off resolution.. Microsoft is still 5 steps behind.

Coming from someone who uses the OS7 Dreamboard Theme on my device, I can say I have no interest in this phone. The phone itself still does not look appealing to the eye.. might as well be a 3Gs. The iPhone 4 Design by itself screamed I'm sexy without even pressing the home button to debut the OS. Not to mention it's absolutely ludicrous to create (3) different models based off resolution.. Microsoft is still 5 steps behind.

Ok that "sexy" design of the iPhone most people cover it with a case and they have three models of resolution & apple has three models of internal memory

Coming from someone who uses the OS7 Dreamboard Theme on my device, I can say I have no interest in this phone. The phone itself still does not look appealing to the eye.. might as well be a 3Gs. The iPhone 4 Design by itself screamed I'm sexy without even pressing the home button to debut the OS. Not to mention it's absolutely ludicrous to create (3) different models based off resolution.. Microsoft is still 5 steps behind.

Microsoft has said MANY times that the phones the demo the OS on are not production models. They are not phones you will be able to buy and this as a software release only. We still need to wait and see what Nokia, HTC and Samsung have interns of hardware.

Nokia better pull some gorgeous and duly capable hardware for this new platform out of its behind--and fast.

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It still baffles me why MSFT is flipping the bird to its WP7 users, what with no direct upgrade path. Perhaps it was an unavoidable hurdle, but it will engender massive amounts of ill will with its users nevertheless. That, and having to start again with zero apps for the WP8 platform (which, although closer to, is still entirely separate from the Windows RT and desktop ecosystems) just seems like a boneheaded maneuver.

I am actually excited for this release. The thing that had me take the Lumia 900 back was the relatively low screen resolution (compared to all competition). I like that more can fit in less space with the redone UI. WP8 is definitely something I want to have a look at!

I will say that I like what Microsoft is doing by unifying the UI between all their devices.

Fact: Windows 8 in all it's variants hasn't introduced anything "new". Metro is more of a "style", or maybe more bluntly, a theme. They've only introduced a new interface 'arrangement', by placing features in a way that really integrates, quite nicely, communication between social media & phone & txt. Which seems to be the biggest reason to get a windows phone; and i'll definitely be defaulting to the legacy look on Win8 after upgrading my desktop. (Personally, the longest my Facebook acct has been activated was two weeks, & that's only because I forgot to deactivate it a week earlier. I use twitter, maybe 3-4x's a quarter, only to complain to some dev about a bug or request an app feature or something like that. Not really to communicate regularly.) I know I'm in the minority but let's not act like Microsoft is reinventing the wheel or introducing another Kinect with this Metro B.S.

Microsofts UI unification really, really, makes Android look bad! LOL! I would love to see all capable Droid devices updated to the latest version, as it pushes Apple and now MS, by showcasing its latest fts in mass. Competition is so freakn great and I'm liking that MS is making a real effort. Not like, ahem, Google, by blatantly copying iOS.

MS phone: not for me.
MS tablet: the touchscreen ultra book with a removable keyboard? No thx. Already got a laptop :-P

With all that said, keep it up Microsoft! Ha! I just wish they'd spend some of those billions less on interface change/arrangement/style/theming, and put it towards human interface improvement. Like they did with Kinect & gaming systems. Either MS or Google should buy Nuance and pump big dolla's into it and give us the future! Siri is only an appetizer that's headed in the right direction. I want more dangit!

I find myself strangely hoping for at least modest Microsoft success with their tablet, phone, and Win8. I've detested their software and arrogance for decades but the wireless keyboard and mouse I have from MS are top shelf and Win7 is pretty good--finally. OK, that's not saying much, but add in disappointment with my iPad 3 and I'm ready for some real competition to Apple. I really like my iPhone4 so would be unlikely to depart from that, but the iPad can easily be dethroned IMO.

*Throws HTC Titan II into the trash* Thanks Microshaft! That has to be one of the fastest OS to hardware phase outs I've ever seen!

I can understand maybe WP9 and beyond, but give your product some growing room for crying outloud!! WP7.5 - WP7.8 is not acceptable as a complete product lifespan and has guaranteed that I won't own a Windows Phone ever again